Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB152 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R179 LHC-D
2	2	By: Minjarez H.B. No. 152
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the collection, storage, and analysis of sexual assault
8	8	evidence and evidence of other sex offenses.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Sections 420.003(1-a), (1-d), (7), and (8),
11	11	Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
12	12	(1-a) "Active criminal case" means a case:
13	13	(A) in which:
14	14	(i) a sexual assault or other sex offense
15	15	has been reported to a law enforcement agency; and
16	16	(ii) physical evidence of the offense
17	17	[assault] has been submitted to the agency or an accredited crime
18	18	laboratory under this chapter for analysis; and
19	19	(B) for which:
20	20	(i) the statute of limitations has not run
21	21	with respect to the prosecution of the offense [sexual assault]; or
22	22	(ii) a DNA profile was obtained that is
23	23	eligible under Section 420.043 for comparison with DNA profiles in
24	24	the state database or CODIS DNA database.
25	25	(1-d) "Law enforcement agency" means a state or local
26	26	law enforcement agency in this state with jurisdiction over the
27	27	investigation of a sexual assault or other sex offense.
28	28	(7) "Sexual assault program" means any local public or
29	29	private nonprofit corporation, independent of a law enforcement
30	30	agency or prosecutor's office, that is operated as an independent
31	31	program or as part of a municipal, county, or state agency and that
32	32	provides the minimum services to adult survivors of stranger and
33	33	non-stranger sex offenses [sexual assault].
34	34	(8) "Survivor" means an individual who is a victim of a
35	35	sexual assault or other sex offense, regardless of whether a report
36	36	or conviction is made in the incident.
37	37	SECTION 2. Section 420.033, Government Code, is amended to
38	38	read as follows:
39	39	Sec. 420.033. CHAIN OF CUSTODY. Medical, law enforcement,
40	40	department, and laboratory personnel who handle [sexual assault]
41	41	evidence of a sexual assault or other sex offense under this chapter
42	42	or other law shall maintain the chain of custody of the evidence
43	43	from the time the evidence is collected until the time the evidence
44	44	is destroyed.
45	45	SECTION 3. Section 420.034(c), Government Code, is amended
46	46	to read as follows:
47	47	(c) The tracking system must:
48	48	(1) track the location and status of each item of
49	49	evidence through the criminal justice process, including the
50	50	initial collection of the item of evidence in a forensic medical
51	51	examination, assignment of a unique number to the item of evidence,
52	52	receipt and storage of the item of evidence at a law enforcement
53	53	agency, receipt and analysis of the item of evidence at an
54	54	accredited crime laboratory, and storage and destruction of the
55	55	item of evidence after the item is analyzed;
56	56	(2) allow a facility or entity performing a forensic
57	57	medical examination of a survivor, law enforcement agency,
58	58	accredited crime laboratory, prosecutor, or other entity providing
59	59	a chain of custody for an item of evidence to update and track the
60	60	status and location of the item; and
61	61	(3) allow a survivor to anonymously track or receive
62	62	updates regarding the status and location of each item of evidence
63	63	collected in relation to the offense.
64	64	SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 420, Government Code, is
65	65	amended by adding Section 420.035 to read as follows:
66	66	Sec. 420.035. EVIDENCE RELEASE AND STORAGE. (a) If a
67	67	health care facility or other entity that performs a medical
68	68	examination to collect evidence of a sexual assault or other sex
69	69	offense receives signed, written consent to release the evidence as
70	70	provided by Section 420.0735, the facility or entity shall notify
71	71	either the law enforcement agency investigating the alleged
72	72	offense, if known, or the local law enforcement agency not later
73	73	than 24 hours after receiving consent.
74	74	(b) A law enforcement agency that receives notice from a
75	75	health care facility or other entity under Subsection (a) shall
76	76	take possession of the evidence not later than the 14th day after
77	77	the date the law enforcement agency receives notice.
78	78	(c) If a law enforcement agency that takes possession of
79	79	evidence under Subsection (b) determines that the agency does not
80	80	have jurisdiction over the investigation of the alleged sexual
81	81	assault or other sex offense, the law enforcement agency shall
82	82	notify the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the
83	83	investigation not later than the 14th day after the date that
84	84	determination is made.
85	85	(d) A law enforcement agency that receives notice from
86	86	another law enforcement agency under Subsection (c) shall take
87	87	possession of the evidence not later than the 14th day after the
88	88	date the law enforcement agency receives notice.
89	89	(e) A health care facility or other entity that performs a
90	90	medical examination to collect evidence of a sexual assault or
91	91	other sex offense that has not obtained signed, written consent as
92	92	provided by Section 420.0735 shall provide the survivor with
93	93	information relating to:
94	94	(1) the facility's or entity's policy regarding
95	95	storage of evidence of a sexual assault or other sex offense,
96	96	including a statement of the period for which the evidence will be
97	97	stored before the evidence is destroyed; and
98	98	(2) the ways in which the survivor can request the
99	99	release of the evidence to a law enforcement agency.
100	100	(f) A health care facility or other entity that performs a
101	101	medical examination to collect evidence as described by this
102	102	section must store until at least the first anniversary of the date
103	103	of collection any evidence that is not released to a law enforcement
104	104	agency.
105	105	(g) The failure of a health care facility or other entity or
106	106	a law enforcement agency to comply with the requirements of this
107	107	section does not constitute grounds in a criminal proceeding for:
108	108	(1) a defendant to challenge the validity of a DNA
109	109	match obtained by comparison under Section 420.043; or
110	110	(2) a court to exclude evidence based on a DNA profile.
111	111	(h) A person accused or convicted of committing a sexual
112	112	assault or other sex offense against the survivor does not have
113	113	standing to object to the failure of a health care facility or other
114	114	entity or a law enforcement agency to comply with the requirements
115	115	of this section. Failure of a facility, entity, or agency to comply
116	116	with the requirements of this section does not constitute grounds
117	117	for setting aside the conviction of a person convicted of
118	118	committing a sexual assault or other sex offense against the
119	119	survivor.
120	120	SECTION 5. Subchapter B-1, Chapter 420, Government Code, is
121	121	amended to read as follows:
122	122	SUBCHAPTER B-1. ANALYSIS OF [SEXUAL ASSAULT] EVIDENCE OF SEXUAL
123	123	ASSAULT OR OTHER SEX OFFENSE
124	124	Sec. 420.041. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
125	125	applies only to physical evidence of a sexual assault or other sex
126	126	offense that is collected with respect to an active criminal case.
127	127	Sec. 420.042. ANALYSIS OF [SEXUAL ASSAULT] EVIDENCE. (a) A
128	128	law enforcement agency that receives [sexual assault] evidence of a
129	129	sexual assault or other sex offense that is collected under this
130	130	chapter or other law shall submit that evidence to a public
131	131	accredited crime laboratory for analysis not later than the 14th
132	132	[30th] day after the date on which that evidence was received.
133	133	(b) A person who submits [sexual assault] evidence of a
134	134	sexual assault or other sex offense to a public accredited crime
135	135	laboratory under this chapter or other law shall provide the
136	136	following signed, written certification with each submission:
137	137	"This evidence is being submitted by (name of person making
138	138	submission) in connection with a criminal investigation."
139	139	(c) If sufficient personnel and resources are available, a
140	140	public accredited crime laboratory, as soon as practicable but not
141	141	later than the 60th day after the date on which the laboratory
142	142	received the evidence, shall complete its analysis of any [sexual
143	143	assault] evidence of a sexual assault or other sex offense that is
144	144	submitted under this chapter or other law.
145	145	(d) To ensure the expeditious completion of analyses, the
146	146	department and other applicable public accredited crime
147	147	laboratories may contract with private accredited crime
148	148	laboratories as appropriate to perform those analyses, subject to
149	149	the necessary quality assurance reviews by the public accredited
150	150	crime laboratories.
151	151	(e) The failure of a law enforcement agency to take
152	152	possession of evidence of a sexual assault or other sex offense
153	153	within the period required by Section 420.035 or to submit that
154	154	[sexual assault] evidence within the period required by this
155	155	section does not affect the authority of:
156	156	(1) the agency to take possession of the evidence;
157	157	(2) the agency to submit the evidence to an accredited
158	158	crime laboratory for analysis; [or]
159	159	(3) [(2)] an accredited crime laboratory to analyze
160	160	the evidence or provide the results of that analysis to appropriate
161	161	persons; or
162	162	(4) the department to compare the DNA profile obtained
163	163	from the biological evidence with DNA profiles in a database under
164	164	Section 420.043.
165	165	(f) The failure of a law enforcement agency or public
166	166	accredited crime laboratory to comply with the requirements of this
167	167	section does not constitute grounds in a criminal proceeding for:
168	168	(1) a defendant to challenge the validity of a DNA
169	169	match obtained by comparison under Section 420.043; or
170	170	(2) a court to exclude DNA evidence.
171	171	(g) A person accused or convicted of committing a sexual
172	172	assault or other sex offense against the survivor does not have
173	173	standing to object to the failure of a law enforcement agency or
174	174	public accredited crime laboratory to comply with the requirements
175	175	of this section. Failure of an agency or laboratory to comply with
176	176	the requirements of this section does not constitute grounds for
177	177	setting aside the conviction of a person convicted of committing a
178	178	sexual assault or other sex offense against the survivor.
179	179	Sec. 420.043. DATABASE COMPARISON REQUIRED. After [On the
180	180	request of any appropriate person and after] an evidence collection
181	181	kit containing biological evidence has been analyzed by an
182	182	accredited crime laboratory and any necessary quality assurance
183	183	reviews have been performed, the department shall compare the DNA
184	184	profile obtained from the biological evidence with DNA profiles
185	185	maintained in:
186	186	(1) state databases, including the DNA database
187	187	maintained under Subchapter G, Chapter 411, if the amount and
188	188	quality of the analyzed sample meet the requirements of the state
189	189	database comparison policies; and
190	190	(2) the CODIS DNA database established by the Federal
191	191	Bureau of Investigation, if the amount and quality of the analyzed
192	192	sample meet the requirements of the bureau's CODIS comparison
193	193	policies.
194	194	SECTION 6. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and
195	195	(c) of this section, the changes in law made by this Act apply only
196	196	to sexual assault evidence and evidence of other sex offenses
197	197	collected on or after the effective date of this Act. Evidence
198	198	collected before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
199	199	law in effect on the date the evidence was collected, and the former
200	200	law is continued in effect for that purpose.
201	201	(b) The change in law made by this Act to Section
202	202	420.042(a), Government Code, applies only to sexual assault
203	203	evidence and evidence of other sex offenses received by a law
204	204	enforcement agency not earlier than the 14th day before the
205	205	effective date of this Act. Evidence received by a law enforcement
206	206	agency earlier than the 14th day before the effective date of this
207	207	Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the evidence was
208	208	received, and the former law is continued in effect for that
209	209	purpose.
210	210	(c) The change in law made by this Act to Section
211	211	420.042(c), Government Code, applies only to sexual assault
212	212	evidence and evidence of other sex offenses received by a public
213	213	accredited crime laboratory on or after the effective date of this
214	214	Act. Evidence received by a public accredited crime laboratory
215	215	before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
216	216	effect on the date the evidence was received, and the former law is
217	217	continued in effect for that purpose.
218	218	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.